Suburban shopping with an edge

We can't help but feel that if more suburban areas allowed a fringe of economy into their streets the car-centric model of retail might be somewhat less blightingly prevalent. High Street Shops, in Parkhurst, Johannesburg, is an urban intervention that takes on the prior conversion of a couple of street side villas into shops and celebrates it. A dynamic canopy weaves between the original detached homes and joins them into a veritable streetscape. The low, simple dwellings are joined together into a distinct urban unit, their ceilings are removed and their trusses exposed. Space is realised between the house-shops and light is introduced via polycarbonate sheeting and simple metalwork grilles. The set-back villas are given a street edge with an appropriate scale. The result is something we salute - a suburban street with a an edge!